*More fruit in the jar than any other ingredient. In my jams, I use 5-7 cups of fruit to about 1 and 1/2 cups of sugar, depending on the sweetness of the fruit. In homemade jams with Sure-jell, to 5 and 1/2 cups of fruit, you’ll typically add 7 cups of sugar, depending on the fruit, and commercial jams and jellies are even worse because they are usually made with high-fructose corn syrup instead of sugar. Are you seeing this correctly? Yes, you are. It’s the process I use to create the jam, an old-fashioned long-cooking process, that allows me to bring out the natural sweetness of the fruit, so I don’t need all that sugar. This jam tastes more like fresh fruit than the homemade, quick-cooking types of jams and jellies made with commercial pectin.

*Homemade pectin stock made with organic apple peels. Most fruits contain plenty of pectin in their skins to make great jam and jelly without the need for commercial pectins, which require much sugar to jell. There are a few exceptions. For these fruits, like peaches (which have fuzzy skin so peeling is a must) or hot peppers or green tomatoes, I make apple pectin stock from my own organic apple peelings (a by-product of making apple pie filling and dried apples). I add this pectin stock to the fruit to get a nice, thick set, so your jam or jelly doesn’t spill all over your toast or biscuit. You can’t taste the apple, but it gives that nice set to the jam or jelly.

Right now, I am selling jams made in 2016. Homemade, home-canned jams and jellies will last for years in the jar, but I am only selling what was made no more than a year previously.

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL! Buy four or more jars of jam and take .50 off each jar. Four 8 oz. jars of any jam/$20. Four 16 oz. jars of any jam/$36. Mix and match: .50 off each jar with a purchase of 4 or more jars. This is the perfect gift for that hard-to-buy-for person in your life.

Available now for local delivery in limited quantities:

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Jailhouse Jam: My little joke. This jam is made from apricots picked at the Old Lassen County Jail and other places around Susanville. One of my very favorites, this apricot jam is like summer in a jar. Can you imagine opening up a jar of summer in the dead of winter? Ingredients: Apricots, sugar, lemon juice. $5.50/half-pint jar. $9.50/pint jar.

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Loganberry Jelly: Loganberries are a cross between blackberries and raspberries. The berries look like blackberries but are more purple, larger, juicier, and sweeter. Made from my own, homegrown, organic berries, this jelly is very close in flavor to blackberry but with a subtle difference that harks back to its raspberry forebears. All red and purple berries are loaded with antioxidants, so this jelly is actually good for you! Ingredients: Organic Loganberry juice, organic sugar, lemon juice. $5.50/ half-pint jar. $9.50/ pint jar.

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Loganberry Jam: Berry jam is made with whole fruit, including the seeds. Some folks like the seeds; some don’t. For those who don’t, there’s jelly. For those who do, there’s jam! Ingredients: Organic Loganberries, organic sugar, lemon juice. $5.50/ half-pint jar. $9.50/ pint jar.

Old-fashioned Strawberry Jam: Made with my own organic strawberries, with over 2 cups of fruit in a half-pint jar! It takes a lot of berries to make this jam, and between picking, cleaning and hulling, and jam-making, I must have at least 20 hours into a single batch. I can guarantee you that you cannot find a jam like this in any store, nor in most kitchens. Consider that most homemade jams put up with a commercial pectin like Sure-Jell are made with 7 cups of sugar (or more) or 5 1/2 cups of fruit, and then compare that to my jam. My recent batch contained 14 cups of organic fruit and 5 cups of organic sugar. Let’s not even go into what’s in a commercial jam besides the ubiquitous high-fructose corn syrup. I guess it all depends on what you want on your toast: fruit or corn syrup and sugar. I know what I want on mine! (See the whole berries in the pic below!) Ingredients: Organic strawberries, organic sugar, organic apple pectin stock (see above), lemon juice. $9.50/pint jar; $5.50/half-pint jar.

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Nectarine and Vanilla Jam: Because unlike a peach, the nectarine’s close cousin, there’s no fuzz on a nectarine, the skin (with its natural pectin to set the jam) doesn’t have to be removed. The red skins give the jam a beautiful rosy color. Another summer-in-a-jar flavor. This jam is made with my organic, home-grown nectarines and vanilla sugar. Vanilla sugar is made by splitting vanilla bean pods and immersing them in sugar to transfer the flavor (and a few tiny black vanilla specks). Ingredients: Organic nectarines, vanilla sugar, lemon juice. $5.50/half-pint jar; $9.50/pint jar.

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Blackberry Jelly: Jelly is made from the juice of a fruit, minus the pulp and/or seeds. My blackberry jelly is made from my own, homegrown, organic blackberries. I remove the seeds, but I don’t clarify the juice (remove pulp), so it has more body than a store-bought jelly, and so much more flavor! Ingredients: Organic blackberry juice, organic sugar, lemon juice. $5.50/ half-pint jar. $9.50/ pint jar.

Blackberry Jam: For those who enjoy the seeds, here’s an organic blackberry jam complete with seeds. The seeds impart a bit of flavor, a slight bitterness which complements the sweetness of the fruit. This is a robust, winey, full-bodied jam. The scent of it will take you back to childhood summers spent picking blackberries, if you were blessed enough to have such a childhood. And if not, with a little imagination and a jar of this jam, you can pretend you did! Ingredients: Organic blackberries, organic sugar, lemon juice. $5.50/ half-pint jar. $9.50/ pint jar.

Green Tomato Marmalade: It sounds weird, I know. But it tastes nothing like what you’d imagine it would taste. It’s sweet and tart, with citrus flavor from the lemon slices, and it also contains a bit of red pepper flake, so there’s a hint of heat. This has become my daughter’s new favorite. She swears it’s the best thing I’ve ever made (although she’s pretty fond of my Hot Pepper Jelly as well)! It is delicious on toast or an English muffin, but equally at home on a bagel with cream cheese. For an hors d’oeuvre, spread a soft, mild cheese–like Brie, cream cheese, or goat cheese–on a cracker and top with Green Tomato Marmalade. If you have some fresh or frozen crab meat, add to the cracker for an appetizer or snack your guests will love. Ingredients: Organic green tomatoes, lemons, apple pectin stock (made from organic apples), sugar, red pepper flakes. $5.50/half-pint jar.

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Hot Pepper Jelly with Lime: Also in the sweet/savory category is my Hot Pepper Jelly made with homegrown, organic jalapeno and Serrano peppers. I use this jelly on toast, etc., as well as for an hors d’oeuvre as with the Green Tomato Marmalade above. It’s a beautiful, rich, red color that is completely natural and comes from the peppers, not from any artifical colors. If you like spicy-sweet, Hot Pepper Jelly with Lime (and Green Tomato Marmalade) will please your taste buds. Ingredients: Organic hot peppers (jalapeno and Serrano), red bell peppers, sugar, apple pectin stock (made from organic apples), lime juice, apple cider vinegar. $5.50/half-pint jar.

Apple Butter: If you have not tried apple butter, you really don’t know what you’re missing! This spread is made from my own organic pie apples, and it is a family favorite. It was my favorite as a child, and I learned to make it from my mother, with a few of my own tweaks added along the way. It’s a bit like a smooth, spicy apple pie in a jar. Apple butter starts with applesauce made from my organic pie apples. Spices and a little sugar and some apple cider vinegar (also homemade from my organic apples) are added to the applesauce, and the mixture is slow roasted in an open pot in the oven for at least 12 hours, producing a rich, deep, spicy apple flavor that I call Autumn in a Jar, but it is delicious all year round. Ingredients: organic apples, organic sugar, organic apple cider vinegar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves. $5.50/half-pint jar. $9.50/pint jar.

I have been canning and preserving food for 50 years. I learned to can from my mother, and I follow the practices set out in the Ball Blue Books for preserving jams and jellies. I always follow the canning guidelines and safe practices approved by the USDA, and I stay current on updated information on food safety and home food preservation. All my recipes are tested and approved by family, friends, and customers!